'Eventually, the whole population will be armed' that they were instead being mobilised to defend Manauga.
It is a terrible blow. Half the harvest
But already a thousand American volunteers have arrived to do the harvest in the war zones on the Hon-
Main Krivine, a leader of the Ligue Communiste Revolutionnaire (Revolutionary Communist League - LCR) and of the Fourth International, has recently returned from Nicaragua. A correspondent of Rouge (the LCR's newspaper) asked him for his views on what is happening.
Can you go over some of the lessons of the Nicaraguan elections?
Answer. The elections had a double break the economic and diplomatic isolation of Nicaragua in the face of the threatened American invasion. From this point the results were very positive. The attitude of the USA might not have changed, but the fact that the elections were completely free has helped legitimise the Sandinista revolution.
Internally, the elections attest to the popularity of the FSLN and have an edu cational value from the political point of view for the population. has shown itself capable of taking up arms but also of giving people back their
The elections also showed the complete absence of any alternative from the right-wing parties that stood. people are not able to roll back the gains of the revolution. But they simply take up in a demagogic way any signs of discontent. In particular, they exploit the real difficulties in distribution and supply and compulsory military service.
Q. How is the relationship of forces shaping up inside the country under the invasion threat?
The real threat is more directly from the Americans than from the contras. mobilisation against the US threat involves practically all young people anΔ a large majority of the population as a whole. Faced with this, there is a significant minority who support the contras, mainly within the bourgeoisie but also amongst the peasantry, especially in the north.
This minority was expressed partly in abstentions and spoilt ballots. The votes for the right-wing parties is more an expression of discontent with the FSLN than support for the contras. It also reflects electoral traditions. Some forty kilometers from Managua I met a peasant militia man who explained to me: 'My family has always voted for the Democratic Conservative Party, but I have a rifle to defend the revolution."
When it comes down to it, there are two right-wing opposition forces with a real infrastructure. These are the bosses' organisation, COSEP, and the hierarchy of the Catholic church. Following the murder of six children by the contras, one representative of the church stated that, 'acts of aggression against the body are less serious than acts against the soul. 8
What have been the consequences of economic sabotage on the progress of the revolution?
A. The government has had to face a number of difficulties. The contras are pursuing their policy of burning down cooperatives and centres of production. In response to this, apart from deploying troops, the Sandinistas are attempting to restrict the social base of the contras by pushing agrarian reform. setting-up state farms and above all co-
In the towns they have to cope with the black market and speculation. measures they have taken are to monitor the cost of production of essential goods guarantee minimum supplies. Contrary to what the press reports say, it is not ration cards' that have been issued but cards to guarantee supplies.
All these plans and proposals are tied to preparations for an invasion. The resupplying of the troops has been severely interrupted and the government has to sacrifice 'everything for defence'. Coffee, the export which accounts for one third of the inflow of currency, has become part of the economic battle. Comandante Wheelock announced to 1,200 students and school students who were supposed to be using their holidays for the harvest
In memory of a friend
On November 4, Enrique Schmidt-
Cuadra died leading a unit against the contra band that killed six children in a mortar attack on Esteli.
In exile in Cologne before the victory of the FSLN, he was a central figure in building solidarity work with collaborated closely with activists of section of the
International, the GIM. On his death, the GIM issued a statement, saying, among other things:
Enrique as a friend and a comrade.
The Cologne group of the GIM will honor his memory....
"It is a strange twist of fate that
Enrique, who devoted himself entirely to the fight for freedom and equality, had to die on the very day of the first free elections in the history of his
Q. How is the population mobilised in the face of the threat?
A. Even during the elections, the response to the contras' antics were spectacular. The latter wanted to take possession of the town of Esteli, the day before polling day. The whole town was put on war alert and the inhabitants soon had trenches built... The contras were only able to attack eleven of the 3,800 polling booths.
The real threat comes from the preparations of the Americans. There are warships near the port of Corinto and daily flights of supersonic aeroplanes, both for spying purposes and to intimidate the
This very morning [November 12], the ministry of defence published a communique declaring a state of emergency. All the organisations of popular defence are in position, as are the first-aid service battalions. Tanks are in strategic
Anti-aircraft batteries have been deployed and CDS members in all the towns are digging trenches and shelters.
Q. The invasion seems to be more and more imminent. How can it be pre-
A. The US cannot tolerate this revolution. For Reagan the question is how to destroy it. Two obstacles could stand in his way. The level of popular mobilisation shows that Nicaragua will not be another Grenada. The population is ready to fight for 'every house' and 'every street corner. Five hundred thousand arms have been distributed, and the entire population of Managua is going to be
In addition, the FSLN has developed a fallback plan with guerrillas in the mountains, as they did under Somoza. Tomas Borge announced today that, If there is an invasion, the Americans should know that there will no longer be any borders in Central America.' An American invasion would set the whole of Central America alight.
The other decisive factor is international pressure, which the FSLN are counting on a great deal. Every action of solidarity is held up as an example. But here it is important to overcome the weakness of the support in Europe.
This revolution that they want to strangle provides a testing ground for the entire world. Nicaraguans do not understand the campaign of hate against them. Why should they be denied the right to defend themselves when the US is arming the aggressors?
The Nicaraguan people are aware that they are conducting an unprecedented experiment in democracy within a revolution under seige. The most important thing is to break their isolation.
International Viewpoint 26 November 1984
union and the power engineers' union are both on the extreme right wing of the trade-union movement.
Just how right wing can be gauged from the fact that some electrician union leaders have asked for membership of the bosses' organisation, the Confederation of